Left to right: Benjamin Rivera and Samuel Olson (Houston Police Dept.).
A 31-year-old Texas man is now facing potentially lengthy prison time after assisting his roommate, Theresa Balboa, in concealing the corpse of a 5-year-old boy. This came after she fatally assaulted the child with a blunt object during the COVID-19 quarantine period. Benjamin Rivera admitted guilt on Thursday to a charge of felony tampering with evidence—specifically involving a human corpse—in relation to the 2021 murder of young Samuel Olson, according to documents analyzed by Law&Crime.
Theresa Balboa, who was in a relationship with the child’s father at the time, admitted guilt in 2023 to a first-degree murder charge for the death of young Samuel. She received a 52-year prison sentence, with the possibility of parole after 26 years. Initially, she faced charges of capital murder.
As noted previously by Law&Crime, Samuel was declared missing by his father on May 27, 2021, after Balboa, who had been taking care of the child since April 30, alleged the boy’s biological mother arrived at her home with a police officer to reclaim her son. This story was soon debunked, as surveillance footage verified that the boy’s mother was at her own residence during the claimed period, as detailed by police in a probable cause statement.
Investigators soon learned that Balboa had actually killed Samuel weeks earlier. Rivera later admitted that he assisted Balboa in hiding Samuel’s body.
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According to the affidavit, Rivera told police that Balboa, on May 10, called to tell him that Samuel “was deceased and was not breathing.” Rivera left work and returned to the home where he found Samuel “unresponsive on a bed” with “bruising” on his body.
“He and Teresa Balboa placed [Samuel’s] corpse in the bathtub, where [Samuel] remained for two days. Defendant stated on May 13, 2021, he purchased duct tape and a plastic tote at a local Wal-Mart,” the affidavit states. “[Rivera] stated that he and Theresa Balboa wrapped [Samuel’s] corpse in a plastic sheet, placed the corpse in a plastic tote, and placed the tote in Defendant’s motor vehicle. Defendant stated that he and Theresa Balboa then drove the corpse to a storage unit located at 16650 Highway 3, Webster, Harris County, Texas, and placed the corpse and plastic tote inside of the storage unit.”
Several days later, authorities said that Rivera and Balboa moved the child’s body from the storage unit to a motel room in Jasper, Texas. When police and Texas Rangers converged on Balboa’s room on June 2, 2021, they immediately found her hiding in the bathroom. Asked about the boy’s whereabouts, Balboa said he “was inside the box.”
Rivera was taken into custody more than two weeks after the body was discovered. Samuel would have celebrated his sixth birthday on May 29, 2021.
Rivera will face up to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced on Oct. 20, 2025.
